Third Division club Fgura United have launched an attack against the Malta Football Association after it was ascertained that they might lose promotion to the Second Division despite that Sirens (who were promoted) had two players testing positive in the match against the same Fgura on 22 April which ended in a goalless draw. That point was enough for the St Paul’s Bay side to earn promotion – on points.

But Fgura are feeling they will be cheated of being promoted apart from finishing fourth in the standings.

In a club statement, however, Fgura are claiming that according to the rules, Sirens should have been made to lose the match 2-0 once two players tested positive to doping, although such a measure could not have been applied near the end of a season.

In their statement Fgura said they wrote to the MFA to bring this to the attention of the Executive Committee which met last Monday. It appealed to the EC to treat the case with urgency because of the extraordinary circumstances but the MFA only informed the club that it will not be in a position to take a final decision before the end of the championship as an elaborate process was needed and that included the medical committee being summoned, charges issued against the players, who also had the right to have a reserve test within seven days. The statement also added that in the meantime, the players were suspended.

However, it felt it was not fair to have a club still winning promotion on an issue which would have seen it losing points had the ‘crime’ been committed in mid-season.

The club criticised the association over its doping regulations. It asked: “What is the aim of having doping tests near the end of the season when, with the long process involved, the same rules cannot be applied?

Fgura finally asked the MFA what kept it from applying harsher measures in this latest case of substance abuse? The statement said the club felt that it will again be condemned to another season in the third division, while Sirens will just be fined. The club also said it felt it was the game of football, the sense of sporting justice and the element of fair play which lost in this case.